


Foreign Tongues

by ThrillingDetectiveTales



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 14:31:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8165278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThrillingDetectiveTales/pseuds/ThrillingDetectiveTales
Summary: Jack, who still had the devil in him most days and didn't appreciate suddenly having a rider who wouldn't let him stretch his legs, pawed at the dirt a little. He turned his big, wet eyes on Josh and asked, ears twitching, "Why are we crossing this hot, dry desert?"Josh blinked."Excuse me?"It was a fine question, excepting that it had come from a horse.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I found [some Western writing prompts](http://www.warmheartspublishing.com/wild-wild-west-writing-prompts/) and the talking horse one really spoke to me. Combined with some interesting facts about early 19th century marijuana use that I stumbled across while I was doing some research for another Faraday/Vasquez (Varaday? Fasquez?) fic that I'm working on, it was too good pass up.
> 
> Additionally, I prescribe to the belief that Vasquez has - and uses - a first name, and that Faraday doesn't call himself Faraday in his own head.

They had made camp just over an hour ago, in a little copse of tall boulders and desert scrub that backed up against a cliff face.

It was early to be settling in for the evening, the sun just barely starting to sink below the distant mesas, but Josh's bum leg had started kicking up a mighty fuss after a long day on horseback. The twinge in his torn-up shoulder he could usually ignore, but his leg was harder. Especially now that Eddie - who had been Vasquez before Josh almost died, and then Eduardo while he was healing, and something else entirely when he stuck around even after that - had developed an eye for all the little telltale shifts and twinges that gave Josh away.

He'd noticed the grit in Josh's teeth, or maybe the grey pallor to his face, and loudly declared that he was sick of riding for the day.

In too much pain to argue, Josh had accepted a hand down from his horse with less grace than Eddie deserved, and limped around until he found a nice comfortable spot where he could lie back with his legs stretched out in front of him. Eddie had taken it upon himself to unload their bedrolls and their cookware. He'd strung up a cast-iron pot over a small fire and was poking around at a mess of beans with a serious expression on his face while Josh reclined on a pile of blankets.

He felt like his whole body was floating, head muzzy and full of cotton from the funny Mexican tobacco that Eddie sometimes gave him for the pain.

The horses were tied to a squatty palo verde tree nearby, faces buried in feedbags, tails flicking back and forth to keep the gnats from getting too cozy on their haunches. Eddie's horse, a dappled gelding that he'd purchased back in Rose Creek after his own mount was mowed down by that damned Gatling gun, was eating quietly, huffing gentle breaths.

Jack, who still had the devil in him most days and didn't appreciate suddenly having a rider who wouldn't let him stretch his legs, pawed at the dirt a little. He turned his big, wet eyes on Josh and asked, ears twitching, "Why are we crossing this hot, dry desert?"

Josh blinked.

"Excuse me?"

It was a fine question, excepting that it had come from a horse. Josh wasn't quite sure how to answer, if he even should. He wasn't convinced that it was any of Jack's business, being that Jack's business was mainly to ferry him from point A to point B with minimal complaint.

Stubbornness was as good a response as any, and probably the most true. While he likely would have been more comfortable settled down somewhere in a sleepy little town, Josh's temperament hadn't yet caught up to his physical limitations. He still had that raw knot in his chest, itching and urging him out, to explore and discover. He wasn't sure if it would ever fade away enough that he could carve out a quiet life somewhere. He wasn't sure if he wanted it to.

"You okay, guero?" Eddie asked from his position by the fire. Josh jerked a thumb at Jack, who huffed a breath and turned his head away.

"Horse is askin' me questions," he explained. Eddie's face sort of convulsed, torn between a frown and a grin, and he let out a startled bark of laughter.

"Claro," he said, settling on fond bemusement. "What are they saying?"

Josh shook his head.

"Just Jack. He wants to know why we're crossing this desert."

Jack helpfully shifted a few steps over and began relieving himself in the dirt. Josh frowned and looked back at Eddie.

"Well he did, anyway. He's stopped talkin' now."

"I can see that," Eddie agreed. He rose to his feet and wiped his palms off on his thighs. He was lovely, all back-lit by the fire and the orange glow of the sun.

"Gracias," Eddie grinned, and Josh realized belatedly that he'd been speaking out loud. He knocked the toe of his boot gently against Josh's good leg. "How do you feel?"

"Floaty," Josh supplied immediately. He frowned. "Can the horses usually talk?"

"No, mijo." Eddie shook his head. He was smiling down at Josh with open affection, clearly amused. "Not usually."

Josh considered this.

"I think maybe I had too much," he said slowly. Eddie dropped down to sit beside him on the blankets, and Josh shifted, worming his way over so that his head was nestled high on Eddie's thigh.

"Probably," Eddie agreed blandly, running a hand through Josh's hair. He dragged his fingertips gently from the base of Josh's neck up toward the top of his head, and Josh groaned.

"Mm," he hummed. "Feels nice."

He laid there for awhile, with Eddie stroking his hair, listening to the beans popping distantly on the fire and the occasional small noises of the horses settling. He sat up, wanting to get closer, and that small motion was enough to send a jolt of pain lancing through his bum leg. He hissed a breath through his teeth.

"Easy, guero," Eddie murmured, reaching around to press his thumb gently into the meat of Josh's bad thigh. It hurt, at first, like it always did, Josh tensing up under the sensation, but eventually each soothing sweep of Eddie's fingers leeched a bit of the discomfort away. "There you go," he affirmed, when Josh took a deep breath through his nose and started to relax. "Easy."

They were sitting close enough that Eddie practically had his chin hooked over Josh's shoulder. Their noses brushed when Josh turned his head and Josh remembered why he'd wanted to sit up in the first place.

"Eddie," he breathed, and Eddie leaned in and kissed him.

It was a soft, gentle thing, just the barest press of lips. They had done this often enough that it probably shouldn't still send a thrill rattling up Josh's spine, but it did. He shivered and reached up to cup Eddie's jaw with his hand, running his thumb along the arc of Eddie's cheek.

Eddie sighed and Josh took it upon himself to slip his tongue into Eddie's mouth. His own tasted fuzzy and faintly burnt, but Eddie's was warm and slick and inviting. He licked past Eddie's teeth and Eddie hummed happily into it, bringing his arms up to ring Josh's waist.

With his recently fractured femur, there would likely be no straddling in Josh's immediate future, if ever again, but he shifted around until he was sat on Eddie's lap, his legs straight out around Eddie's hips. Eddie pressed a kiss to his chin, bit gently at the hinge of his jaw, licked the divot just under his ear.

"You feel better now?" he asked.

"A bit," Josh said, and tugged the hem of Eddie's shirt out of the waistband of his pants. Eddie rubbed his cheek against Josh's throat. He'd figured out pretty early on that Josh's Irish heritage made for skin that pinked up under the slightest attention and seemed to take great satisfaction in provoking the reaction however he could.

"The horses still talking to you?" he grinned.

Josh, his head feeling clearer now, rolled his eyes.

"Shut up."

Eddie laughed, and leaned in to kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> I also, obviously, prescribe to the belief that Faraday would try to pronounce "Eduardo" and it's many exciting Spanish diminutive forms correctly, fail horribly, and fall back on a similar nickname he was more familiar with.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Foreign Tongues](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8462455) by [MistMarauder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistMarauder/pseuds/MistMarauder)




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